The XMen Take A Trip To The Mountains
by Miss Freeze
Summary: When the weather is just too hot for hiking, Logan takes the X-teens for a slightly different form of outdoor excerise. Another short story for my fanclub.
1. Default Chapter

Hello! I've been cleaning my horse tack and decided to write a fic about the X-teens taking a trailride into the mountains with...(dramatic pause)...Logan!!!!!  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own the X-Men, but Jennifer and Timothy are mine. And Bali.  
  
Warning: Could be a long fic.  
  
Chapter One  
  
A Trip With Logan  
  
All of the X-boys lay under the shade of a tree, panting in the unseasonally hot March sun.  
  
"Gasp! Its too hot!" Kurt Wagner whispered, his blue fuzzy brow matted with sweat.  
  
"Dude, this is not cool," Evan Daniels panted as he stared out at the shimmering Institute grounds.  
  
"Wanna go for a ride in my convertible on the freeway?" Scott Summers suggested, sitting back and longing for a cool breeze.  
  
"Nah, too much movement," Sam Guthrie moaned as he shaded his eyes from the merciless sun.  
  
Timothy Morlund had turned himself into a winged dragon and was hiding in the shade of a large rock.  
  
"Maybe we could have a squirt-gun fight," he hissed, his forked dragon tongue flicking in and out of his parched mouth.  
  
Just then Kitty Pryde walked up to the boys, decked out in a pink tank top and white bikini bottoms.  
  
"Hey guys!" she called. "Logan's gonna take us for a hike in the mountains!"  
  
The boys gave a mutual groan.  
  
"Did I hear someone volunteer to carry the camping equipment?" Logan snarled from where he stood directly above the lounging boys.  
  
"Come on Herr Logan," Kurt moaned, "we can barely stand in this heat, let alone take an overnight hike."  
  
The other boys nodded their agreement.  
  
"Really," Logan muttered, scratching his chin as if pondering something. "If you can't walk it I guess we'll just skip the hike."  
  
The boys cheered weakly.  
  
"We're gonna take a horse back ride."  
  
"What?" Evan gasped. "You mean on horses?"  
  
"That's the only way to ride em," Logan confirmed.  
  
"Aw come on," Sam argued. "Wouldn't it be too hot for the horses?"  
  
"Its only 68 in the sun boys, perfect horse weather," Logan told them and he marched off towards the mansion.  
  
He looked over his shoulder when he noticed the boys weren't following him.  
  
"Get up," he growled. "Any one who doesn't participate earns themselves an hour session with me in the Danger Room."  
  
The boys hopped to their feet immediately and followed the gruff Canadian into the mansion.  
  
"You'll have to change into jeans," Logan informed the teens that were assembled in the rec room.  
  
"Jeans?" Kitty whined. "But its like, too hot out there!"  
  
"Trust me, you'll want something covering your legs when you get into the saddle," Amara warned them. "I do have several pairs of riding breeches if you girls would like to borrow some."  
  
"But, but," Kurt complained, pointing to his tail. "Horseback riding is murder for dudes vith tails."  
  
"You'll just have to ride English," Amara sniffed. "Less saddle to squish your tail against."  
  
Logan looked at his watch.  
  
"You kids have fifteen minutes to get ready, when your time is up meet me in the X-van."  
  
The teenagers scurried upstairs to get changed.  
  
"Make sure you don't wear anything brand new or expensive," Jennifer warned before she raced into her room.  
  
"And make sure you wear shoes with a heel," Amara added as she ducked into her own room.  
  
The girls were all in there respective rooms, changing into 'cowgirl' wear, but the X-boys just stood in the hall, staring at each other.  
  
"I don't even think I have shoes with a heel," Evan said at last.  
  
"Neither do I," Timothy admitted.  
  
Scott sighed. "Come on guys," he told them. "We have to do this thing, you don't want to have to do a Danger Room session with Logan do you?"  
  
That settled it. The boys all scurried into their rooms to get ready.  
  
Fifteen minutes later, the X-teens all piled into the van, dressed in old shirts, jeans, or riding breeches.  
  
Logan did a headcount.  
  
"Hey shifty," he growled, "you can't get out o' this."  
  
"I'm right here," Timothy explained, as he sat on the back of Logan's seat, six inches tall with wings sprouting from his back.  
  
"What are you supposed to be?" Logan asked.  
  
"I'm a fairy," the boy replied.  
  
Logan snorted and turned back around in his seat.  
  
The kids chatted happily as the Institute faded away and the van drove down the road to an enormous riding facility.  
  
"Its about time you came to see me again," a tall, blond haired woman smiled to Logan as the X-Men filed out of the van.  
  
"Hello Marie," Logan murmured as he took another head count. All of the kids were present, two more Jamies than usual because he bumped his arm on the drive over.  
  
Marie was counting the kids as well.  
  
"I think we have just enough horses for you all," she concluded as the twin Jamies disappeared back into the original. "Have any of you ever ridden before?"  
  
Kitty, Amara, Jean, Rahne, and Jennifer of the girls raised their hands, but of the boys only Scott raised his hand.  
  
"I went once with Jean," he explained when the other boys gave him quizzical glances.  
  
The teens and Logan followed Marie into the huge thirty stall horse barn.  
  
Several of the horses were already hitched to the cross ties and stable workers were brushing them down.  
  
"Most of you will have to ride English," Marie explained as the group walked down the aisle towards the tack room. "We only have a few Western saddles so we'll let the least experienced use them."  
  
Marie led the way into the enormous room where the tack was stored. The city kids gaped at the rows of highly polished saddles and bridles.  
  
Marie was pointing out a row of large saddles with higher cantles and horns on the front.  
  
"These are the Western saddles," she explained. "They are easier to ride in because there is more saddle. Jamie, Sam, Ray, Roberto, Jubilee, Timothy, Bobby, Evan, and Rogue can use the Western saddles. Rahne, Kitty, Amara, Jean, Scott, Jennifer, and Kurt can ride with the English saddles."  
  
"But Kurt didn't say he's ridden before," Timothy pointed out. "How come he's gonna ride English?"  
  
"Because he has a tail," Marie replied.  
  
Kurt's jaw dropped. He had worn his image inducer to the stables so no one would be afraid of his appearance.  
  
"Logan told me," Marie explained. "Don't worry Kurt, your secret is safe with me," she added quietly.  
  
When the kids had all grabbed the saddle that they would each use, Marie led them down to the stalls and pointed out the horses assigned to each teenager.  
  
One of the stable grooms helped each of the kids to groom and tack their mounts and to lead them out into the arena next to the barn.  
  
When all of the teens were in the arena, Marie and Logan helped the beginners to mount their horses and walk around the ring.  
  
"Jamie, loosen up your reins a bit, Toby's mouth is delicate. "Kurt, keep your heels down, you don't want your feet to get stuck in the stirrup. Amara, beautiful, just keep an eye on where you're going."  
  
The other kids snickered as Marie pointed out Amara's mistake of letting her horse wander to the center of the ring.  
  
The Nova Roman princess fumed and jerked her horse back to the outer fence.  
  
When the kids had warmed up to their horses and camping equipment equally tied behind saddles, the group hit the trail.  
  
With Marie at the front, experienced riders scattered in the middle, and Logan bringing up the rear, the X-teens began their three hour long trail ride.  
  
Within ten minutes of the ride, the complaints began.  
  
"I'm tired, and my legs hurt," Jamie groaned.  
  
"I'm hungry," Sam muttered.  
  
"My tail is getting squished," Kurt whined.  
  
"Any more complaining and you'll have be having a Danger Room lesson as soon as we get back," Logan warned.  
  
The boys shut up immediately, but continued to whisper amongst themselves.  
  
"My horse is so fat it feels like I'm straddling the Grand Canyon," Ray moaned as he squirmed atop an old black mare.  
  
"Oh yeah? Well at least your horse doesn't walk like a goose," Timothy hissed. "I've been hopping in my saddle ever since I got on it." Seeing that his horse was following the one in front of it perfectly fine without him, Timothy morphed into a griffin and curled up in his saddle.  
  
"Rotten little shape shifter," Sam muttered jealously, trying to find a comfortable spot in his seat.  
  
Timothy opened one eye and glared at Cannonball.  
  
Kurt whined and tried to sit up in his stirrups so as not to squish his tail.  
  
"Dang saddle," he muttered.  
  
The girls were further up the line and enjoying themselves immensely.  
  
"Like, there's so many pretty animals out here," Kitty squealed as they watched a white tailed doe race off into the woods. Kitty leaned down to stroke her buckskin mare's neck. "You're such a good horsie Bali," the teenager cooed.  
  
Amara and Rogue were the only girls not enjoying themselves. They grumbled constantly under their breath about how the horses stunk or about how hot it was, or about the flies that seemed to be bugging only them.  
  
Jubilee was having a ball teasing Scott and Jean as the couple chatted together in front of her.  
  
"Scott and Jean, smoochy smoochy!" she laughed.  
  
Jean glared at her and used her telekinesis to whip a branch into the Asian girl's face.  
  
"Hey!" Jubilee squeaked.  
  
"A little less noise please Miss Jubilee," Marie warned.  
  
Now it was Scott and Jean's turn to tease.  
  
"Aw, did you get in trouble?" Scott snickered as Jubilee hunched sulkily in her saddle.  
  
"Does anybody want to pick up the pace?" Marie called.  
  
"What does that mean?" Jamie wondered.  
  
"Trot," Logan ordered and the horses immediately jogged down the trail.  
  
"This isn't good on my tail," Kurt moaned as he bounced up and down in his saddle.  
  
"Kurt, bounce up with your horse's right shoulder," Rahne instructed him.  
  
The boy followed her orders and the ride went much better for him.  
  
"Dankenshoen!" Kurt called to her.  
  
Hope you're enjoying the longer chapter freckles. BTW, this isn't the real sequel either, just another cute story for in between. 


	2. Camping On A Mountain

Shout outs! Freckles91: Good boy! Keep reading! I also wrote a couple of other stories, which I will post here, ok?  
  
Just so you know, this trip is based on a camp I went to last year. The games and pranks they play are based on stuff me and the rest of the campers played. Oh! And one more thing: Kitty Pryde's horse is named Bali, my horse is named Bali! Hehe! Ironic isn't it?  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own the X-Men but the horses I created and Jennifer and Timothy are mine. Don't steal!  
  
Chapter Two  
  
Camping On A Mountain  
  
The group continued to trot for a while longer, but when the boys started to complain anew, they slowed to a walk again.  
  
An hour and a half later, they reached a stream.  
  
"My horse doesn't want to cross that," Amara announced as she pulled her mount away from the water.  
  
"Nonsense," Marie snorted. "Bingo loves water, just give him some rein and he'll walk right through it."  
  
Amara did as she was told, but her horse stopped half-way through to snuffle and splash in the cool water.  
  
"Ewww! Stop!" Amara shrieked as her horse splashed water at her.  
  
Logan growled and urged his horse to where Amara was holding up the line. He grabbed Amara's reins and lead her horse out of the stream.  
  
He gave the girl a look and trotted his horse back to the stream to make sure the rest of the students crossed alright.  
  
There were no more incidents in the stream, except when Kurt's horse stopped to poop.  
  
"Thats gross!" Jamie moaned as he watched Kurt's horse's tail lift and a few green lumps fall into the stream.  
  
"Just keep moving," Logan growled and the teens moved their mounts out of the stream and back onto the trail.  
  
Finally the group reached their campsite, and just in time to. There was only a few hours of daylight left when the teens untacked their horses and lead them into the corral that had been set up for the campers' horses.  
  
"When are we gonna eat?" Timothy asked as he watched Logan build a fire inside of the rock circle that was set up in the middle of the campsite.  
  
"When we finish setting up camp," Logan replied as he stacked some sticks up in a teepee shape.  
  
"Princess," he barked, "its time for you to help out a little."  
  
Amara sniffed. It was true, she hadn't done anything to help build the campsite so far. Ray had untacked her horse and Rahne had put it in the corral. Amara had even made someone else unroll her sleeping bag.  
  
The Princess of Nova Roma strutted over to Logan with her nose high in the air. She extended her royal hand and a ball of fire rolled off her fingers and ignited Logan's sticks.  
  
"Thank you," Logan mumbled as he set a few logs under the burning sticks.  
  
Amara just sniffed and walked off to her sleeping bag.  
  
Kurt leapt down from the tree where he was perched and mocked Amara's prissy gait, sticking his nose in the air and swishing his hips.  
  
Evan and Scott laughed as Kurt continued to follow Amara, twisting his face in a snooty glare.  
  
"What are you laughing at?" Amara growled as she spun around, bumping into Kurt and causing them both to fall back on their bottoms.  
  
"You stupid peasant!" she screamed as she stood up and dusted off her costume.  
  
Kurt and the other boys just laughed.  
  
"Hey guys!" Jean called from beside the fire. "Do you want hotdogs?"  
  
The boys raced over, almost tripping over Jamie in the process.  
  
"Watch it!" Ray yelled as he bumped into Jamie.  
  
Jamie fell onto the ground and duplicated himself.  
  
"We didn't bring enough food for extras," Marie chuckled as the two Jamies walked up to the campfire.  
  
Kurt held a roasting stick in either hand and an additional one curled in his tail.  
  
"Kurt! Don't be a pig," Scott warned as he speared a hotdog with his own stick.  
  
"They're not all mine," Kurt protested. "Ones Jamie's and the other is Rahne's."  
  
"But I've got my own," Rahne chuckled.  
  
Kurt shrugged and turned his hotdogs to cook the underside as well.  
  
Timothy turned into a Faun and sat next to Kurt at the campfire.  
  
"We should tell ghost stories," he suggested.  
  
"Na, too spooky," Jean replied as she snuggled up with Scott.  
  
"Scaredy cat! Scaredy cat!" Jubilee laughed as she poked her hotdog stick at the couple.  
  
"Boo!" Evan shouted behind her.  
  
"Eeeek!" Jubilee jumped up.  
  
"Haha. Not who's the scaredy cat?" Scott snickered.  
  
Jubilee glared at them and turned her back to the fire.  
  
"How about we like, play Commandos?" Kitty suggested. She poked a marshmellow onto her stick and shoved it near the fire.  
  
"Vhere did you get that?" Kurt asked, his eyes following the gooey white wad.  
  
"Marie has some," Kitty replied.  
  
Kurt handed Evan his hotdog sticks, and bamfed over to Marie.  
  
Evan coughed.  
  
"You had to do that when I had my mouth open," he complained as he batted the sulfurous cloud out of his face.  
  
"Whats Commandos?" Jean asked Kitty.  
  
"We all hide out in the woods and someone has to be 'It'," Kitty explained. "If 'It' finds you, you're out. The object of the game is to get back to base before 'It' gets you."  
  
"Sounds cool," Jennifer remarked as she ate one of the hotdogs off of one of Kurt's sticks.  
  
"Kurt can't be 'It'," Scott warned.  
  
"Why not?" Timothy asked.  
  
"Nightvision!" Kurt replied as he sat back down and poked his marshmellows into the fire.  
  
"Oh no!" Kitty shrieked as her marshmellow caught on fire. She waved the burning wad in the air trying to put it out.  
  
"Nien Katzchen," Kurt told her, taking the stick from her hands. He put the marshmellow close to his mouth and blew on it, putting out the flame. "You never wave it around."  
  
Next Chappie! 


	3. Commandos With The Brotherhood

This chapter's a little short. But enjoy it anyway! Hey freckles, have you seen Strong Silence? She hasn't been reviewing. Sniff. We miss you! Disclaimer: I don't own the X-Men.  
  
Chapter Three  
  
Commandos With The Brotherhood  
  
"Thanks for saving my marshmellow Kurt," Kitty told her friend as she stared at the charred blob on the end of her stick.  
  
"I'll eat it if you von't," Kurt offered.  
  
Kitty gave him her stick and walked off to get another marshmellow.  
  
Kurt ate the black marshmellow in one bite, and licked the goo off of his fingers happily.  
  
"Are we gonna play Commandos now?" Timothy asked.  
  
"Who all wants to play?" Scott asked the group.  
  
Everyone except Amara raised their hand.  
  
"Logan can't be it either," Marie protested. "He can find you even without a flashlight."  
  
"I'll stay here and keep watch over the base!" Jamie volunteered, a little afraid of wondering through the woods in the dark.  
  
"I'll be 'It'," Jubilee offered.  
  
"Why do you want to be 'It'?" Scott asked suspisciously.  
  
Jubilee shrugged innocently.  
  
Scott glared at her but stood up to play anyway.  
  
"Like, whats gonna be the base?" Kitty asked.  
  
"How about Amara?" Kurt suggested.  
  
The princess sniffed royally.  
  
"Or not," Kurt shrugged.  
  
"How about the campfire is base?" Evan offered.  
  
Everyone agreed and the game began.  
  
"Wait!" Logan barked. Everyone turned to face him. "No powers."  
  
"Aw man!" Kurt whined.  
  
"Fine," Rogue grumbled, and she took off into the woods, the rest of the kids behind her.  
  
Jubilee counted to ten, then hiked out into the woods to find her friends.  
  
"When I find Scott and Jean they'll get a little surprise," she chuckled to herself, shining the flashlight at the trees and underbrush.  
  
Rahne was crouched near the horse corral, using the animals' sounds to mask any of her own. Her keen ears picked up the sound of footsteps close by.  
  
'Hope thats not Jubilee,' she thought to herself. 


	4. Commandos With The Brotherhood continued

Disclaimer: I don't own the X-Men, yadda yadda yadda!  
  
Chapter Four  
  
Commandos With The Brotherhood...continued...  
  
The footsteps got closer.  
  
'Wait,' Rahne thought. 'Those footsteps sound odd for some reason, as if the person is...hopping!'  
  
"What are we doin' in this forest in the middle of the night yo?" Todd 'Toad' Tolanskey whined as he hopped along in front of the rest of the Brotherhood.  
  
"Because the X-geeks are here," Lance Alvers snarled. "We've come to crash their party."  
  
"I like crashing," Fred Dukes giggled.  
  
"Weknowyoudolardgut, now shutup!" Pietro Maximoff hissed.  
  
"What?" the slow-minded giant asked.  
  
"He said shut up yo!" Toad supplied as he continued to hop towards the horse corral.  
  
'Ah wonder what them beasties are up ta this time,' Rahne pondered as the Brotherhood boys climbed onto the corral fence.  
  
"Wonder what would happen if these horses got loose," Lance snickered.  
  
"Hehehe, right on it boss!" Toad whipped out his tongue and unlatched the gate, setting the horses free.  
  
Rahne jumped aside as the horses stampeded into the woods, whinnying and nickering happily.  
  
"Watch out!" she called above the roar of the horses' hooves.  
  
Kitty screamed and phased just as the horses thundered towards her. Timothy turned into a griffin to fly out of the way when the horses turned and raced in his direction. There was a mayhem as the eighteen loosed horses trampled through the campsite, scattering the fire and smooshing all the foodstuffs that were lying nearby.  
  
"What the?" Logan looked up from where he was collecting firewood as the horses charged right by him.  
  
Marie put her fingers in her mouth and blew a loud whistle. The horses slowly turned around and trotted up to the stable mistress.  
  
"Thats better," she breathed as she stroked the closest one's muzzle to comfort it. 


	5. Punishing The Brotherhood

Shout outs! Alan Bates: Mr. Bates, Marie is not Rogue in this story. Marie is an entirely different person. When I refer to someone as "Marie" I don't mean Rogue, OK? Thank you for the nice review. I do try to be funny you know.  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own the X-Men, or the Brotherhood, but Marie, Timothy, Jennifer, and the horses are all mine. So ner!  
  
Chapter Five  
  
Punishing The Brotherhood  
  
Logan watched as Marie calmed the horses down one by one and led them back to the corral. Logan snarled when he saw the Brotherhood boys perched on the corral fence. The rest of the X-Men had assembled at the corral too.  
  
That was when Logan noticed something strange about the Brotherhood; they weren't moving. Jennifer had frozen them the minute she had seen them.  
  
"I guess this ruins our camping trip," Jubilee muttered. She had been close to catching Jean and Scott when the horses had been loosed.  
  
"Logan, have the kids pick up repack the stuff and tack their horses, I'm going to ride back to the stable to bring my jeep up to get these boys. I want to see that they are thoroughly punished for what they have done. Someone could have gotten hurt in this affair," Marie informed them as she saddled her grey mare and rode back down the trail, shining a flashlight ahead of her.  
  
Logan nodded and ordered the kids to pack up the trampled foodstuffs and roll up their sleeping bags.  
  
Marie came back several hours before dawn in her big jeep. She jumped out and helped Logan load up the still frozen Brotherhood boys.  
  
"Jean, Scott, you're in charge," Logan barked. "Lead the kids back down the trail. We'll meet you at the stables.  
  
"You heard the man, mount up!" Scott called over the roar of the jeep as it drove down the trail.  
  
When the X-Men finally reached the stables, it was light out and Logan came out of the barn to meet them.  
  
"Its about time you got here," he grunted in his Logan-way. "You should see what Marie's havin' the Brotherhood do."  
  
The teens dismounted and followed Logan as the stable grooms took care of their horses.  
  
They had to lean on each other for support when they nearly fell over laughing watching the Brotherhood boys muck dirty stalls.  
  
The End.  
  
Hope you all enjoyed it! Next up will be a few more little funny stories then the sequel. Think you can wait a tiny bit freckles? 


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